11 People You May Not Have Known Were Olympians

For many, competing at the Olympics is the dream of a lifetime. But these accomplished athletes found success both inside and far beyond the Olympic stadium, as movie stars, politicians, famed generals, and Darth Vader's stunt double.

1. DR. BENJAMIN SPOCK

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Dr. Benjamin Spock (1903-1998), author of the bestselling Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), was the authority on child rearing in Baby Boomer America. But long before he became a pop culture icon, Spock rowed with Yale's crew team and made the men's eights team for the 1924 Paris Olympics. He won a gold medal at age 21 and continued rowing for the rest of his life—even placing third in a 4-mile contest at age 84.

2. HILLARY WOLF

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When she wasn't playing a teasing sister in 1990's Home Alone ("Kevin, you're completely helpless!"), Hillary Wolf was honing her judo skills. The child actress, who began practicing martial arts when she was 7, quit acting full time in 1991 to focus on her fighting career. The move paid off: Wolf became a four-time U.S. national champion, and made it to both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games in Atlanta and Sydney, Australia.

3. JOHNNY WEISSMULLER

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Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984), the most famous actor to play Tarzan, was a star in the pool long before he hit the big screen. Before cementing his place in the Hollywood beefcake hall of fame, Weissmuller was an Olympic swimmer who won five gold medals between the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam games (as well as a bronze with the men's water polo team). Playing Tarzan came naturally to him, he once said, because "there was swimming in it, and I didn't have much to say."

4. HAROLD T. SAKATA

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Harold T. Sakata's (1920-1982) steel rimmed hat and karate skills made him dangerous as the memorable James Bond villain Oddjob in 1964's Goldfinger, but in real life the Hawaiian-born athlete was a professional wrestler and weightlifter. He scored a silver medal for weightlifting at the 1948 London Olympics, years before Hollywood producers "discovered" him in the 1960s after catching one of his wrestling matches on television.

5. AND 6. CAMERON AND TYLER WINKLEVOSS

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Perhaps most famous for being bitcoin billionaires and for suing Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss (known collectively as the Winklevoss twins) were also collegiate rowers at both Harvard and Oxford. In 2008, they competed in men's pair rowing at the Beijing Olympics, placing sixth overall.

7. SUMMER SANDERS

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Summer Sanders spent four seasons sliming contestants on Nickelodeon's Figure It Out, but before getting gooey on national television, the host won four Olympic medals—including two gold—at the 1992 Summer games in Barcelona, Spain. Sanders retired from swimming when she was 22, paving the way for her future career as a game show host and sports commentator/reporter.

8. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL

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Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the former Colorado senator who served two terms from 1993 to 2005, became the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate in more than 60 years following his election in 1992. But long before he became interested in politics, Campbell served as captain of the first American judo team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately he tore his ACL in the second round, which ended his athletic career but allowed him to pursue his other interests, like jewelry-making.

9. GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON

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General George S. Patton (1885-1945), the storied World War II officer who led the U.S. Third Army on the Western Front, was famous for his foul mouth, rousing speeches, and tenacious leadership. He was also a great athlete who placed fifth in the inaugural modern pentathlon (swimming, riding, fencing, running, shooting) at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

10. BOB ANDERSON

You likely don't know Bob Anderson's (1922-2012) name or face, but you certainly know his light saber skills. The British stunt double performed Darth Vader's fighting scenes in both The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), and competed as a pro fencer when he wasn't wearing an electronic helmet. Right before representing Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, Anderson got his big break in the film industry when he was recruited to work as Errol Flynn's fencing coach and stunt double opponent in the 1953 film The Master of Ballantrae. He spent much of career as the go-to Hollywood sword-fighting choreographer, working on films like The Princess Bride, The Mask of Zorro, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

11. TOM MCMILLEN

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Tom McMillen, the Democratic U.S. Congressman who represented Maryland's Fourth District from 1987 through 1993, left a towering legacy: Standing at 6 feet 11 inches, he's believed to be the tallest person to ever serve on Capitol Hill. Not surprisingly, McMillen is also a former professional basketball player who competed with the U.S. team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. It was possibly the most controversial gold-medal event ever—the final three seconds were replayed over and over again until the Soviet team went ahead by one point. The U.S. team refused to accept their silver medals.

This Smart Accessory Converts Your Instant Pot Into an Air Fryer

If you can make a recipe in a slow cooker, Dutch oven, or rice cooker, you can likely adapt it for an Instant Pot. Now, this all-in-one cooker can be converted into an air fryer with one handy accessory.

This Instant Pot air fryer lid—currently available on Amazon for $80—adds six new cooking functions to your 6-quart Instant Pot. You can select the air fry setting to get food hot and crispy fast, using as little as 2 tablespoons of oil. Other options include roast, bake, broil, dehydrate, and reheat.

Many dishes you would prepare in the oven or on the stovetop can be made in your Instant Pot when you switch out the lids. Chicken wings, French fries, and onion rings are just a few of the possibilities mentioned in the product description. And if you're used to frying being a hot, arduous process, this lid works without consuming a ton of energy or heating up your kitchen.

The lid comes with a multi-level air fry basket, a broiling and dehydrating tray, and a protective pad and storage cover. Check it out on Amazon.

For more clever ways to use your Instant Pot, take a look at these recipes.

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6 Times the Olympics Have Been Postponed or Canceled

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been officially postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan agreed to push the start date back to 2021 after Canada, Australia, and other countries announced they would not send athletes to the Summer Games this July.

The Summer Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world, typically bringing more than 10,000 athletes from dozens of countries together every four years, The New York Timesreports.

It's extremely rare for the Summer or Winter Olympics to be postponed or canceled. Since 1896, when the modern Olympic Games began, it has happened only six times—and it usually requires a war.

The Olympic Games were canceled during World War I and World War II. The 1940 Summer Games, scheduled to take place in Tokyo, were postponed due to war and moved to Helsinki, Finland, where they were later canceled altogether. The current coronavirus pandemic marks the first time the competition has ever been temporarily postponed for a reason other than war. Here's the full list.